NADAL - It's time to Hang Up the Old Racquet

[Walter Hale 4]

Well i believe it is.

The 2024 Roland Garros is underway and Rafael Nadal, 14-time champion was soundly beaten in straight sets by Alexander ZVEREV. Nadal who turns 38 in june, has played very little tennis because of a run of injuries since early 2023.

Apparently, the committee wanted to arrange a celebration to Nadal on his acheivements there following his elimination but he refused it, an indication he intends playing there next year. But, Nadal could be tarnishing his outstanding acheivements in tennis. In many ways i see him as the real GOAT (and thats coming from a Federer fan) just by the fact that he's won 14 of his total 22 Grand Slams, from the French Open, probably the toughest and most demanding of the 4 Grand Slams championships to win.

Next up for Nadal will be the Olympics tennis, he won't be going to Wimbledon.

[YDKM]

Playing against a #4 ranked player I simply KNEW he was going to loose....seems as a Tennis star you are completely finished by age 40...at least in golf or snooker you can make 50.

[Walter Hale 4]

Playing against a #4 ranked player I simply KNEW he was going to loose....seems as a Tennis star you are completely finished by age 40...at least in golf or snooker you can make 50.

Yes, plus ZVEREV is a winner of the Italian Open 2 weeks ago and a strong contender to win at the ROLAND GARROS.

Nowadays players are competing on the tour pushing 40 and beyond, i agree.

Nadal says he still feels competitive desire to continue on, i suppose, it comes down to if he can avoid injuries and plays in more regular matches.
It would be terrible thing if he became a shadow of his former self.

[YDKM]

Yes injuries affect many sports but Tennis seems right up their near the top!

[Renan]

It's over for Nadal. You see the talent is there but his body does not follow his mind and skill.

It is yet to be deciphered how Djokovic's body will behave in the face of the next Grand Slams, including this Roland Garros. The Big3 era is almost over. Finding out how much Djokovic can still take and if he still wants to.

[YDKM]

Agree since Federer retired it Was easy to guess who the next two to retire would be.

[pmp]

Thankfully, the old guard are leaving the stage. I say "thankfully" because it needed to happen. I don't think it's healthy for any sport to have the same four players in the final of virtually every grand slam - as was the case for quite a while. While I don't follow the women's game very much, at least that kind of domination hasn't been seen since the Williams sisters were at their peak, and even then I'm not sure the domination was so complete.

The same can be said for snooker until the last couple of years, where things have started to go awry for the major players in the world championships. I don't think anyone could have confidently chosen Brucel as winner last year, or the two finalists for this year's tournament. Was it a classic tournament? I think that depends on what you want from it, but I love to see the seeded players fall, and the unpredictability (and new stars coming through) is what makes sport what it is for the most part.

[Walter Hale 4]

Thankfully, the old guard are leaving the stage. I say "thankfully" because it needed to happen. I don't think it's healthy for any sport to have the same four players in the final of virtually every grand slam - as was the case for quite a while. While I don't follow the women's game very much, at least that kind of domination hasn't been seen since the Williams sisters were at their peak, and even then I'm not sure the domination was so complete.

The same can be said for snooker until the last couple of years, where things have started to go awry for the major players in the world championships. I don't think anyone could have confidently chosen Brucel as winner last year, or the two finalists for this year's tournament. Was it a classic tournament? I think that depends on what you want from it, but I love to see the seeded players fall, and the unpredictability (and new stars coming through) is what makes sport what it is for the most part.

The Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era is over. But, i have to say, the standard of tennis today is poor without Roger.


Look, i get what you are saying, but the problem for so many years , was when these champions FEDALOVIC as some fans refer, when they were at their respective peaks, they always held the all-important psychological edge that got them through so many testy matches. The other players just did not possess that attribute (except perhaps Andy MURRAY for a brief time) so there never was going to be any clear successor to the FEDALOVIC domination.
It really came to a point that once these guys had aged, have had a run of injuries, etc and showed signs of being past their peak, that the other players on the tour would make some inroads.



Getting back to the core of the topic, Nadal has said he is going to play again in 2025, let's hope he can leave the game on his terms , but not be driven out of tennis due to a run of injuries.

[Walter Hale 4]

just confirmed Rafa Nadal and Carlos Aclaraz, the new French Open champion, will be playing doubles for Spain at the Olympics. That'll be something to see.

https://www.eurosport.com/tennis/olympic-games-paris-2024/2024/rafael-nadal-and-carlos-alcaraz-to-play-doubles-together-at-paris-olympics_sto20010505/story.shtml

[Walter Hale 4]

UPDATE...

Rafa made the finals in Bastad, SWEDEN but was soundly beaten by rising star Nuno Borges, 6-3,6-2, yesterday.

It's worth pointing out that Nadal, now 38, had two long matches in his quarterfinals and semifinals and has played very little tennis in 18 months because of injuries.

It would have been his first win on the ATP circuit in two years since he won the Roland Garros final.

Next up, Nadal is playing at the Olympics including doubles with ALCARAZ.

It would be good to see if Spain gives him the honor of carrying the spanish flag at the opening ceremonies, AYE


Rafael Nadal vs Nuno Borges for The Title | Bastad 2024 Final Highlights...

[Renan]

UPDATE...

Rafa made the finals in Bastad, SWEDEN but was soundly beaten by rising star Nuno Borges, 6-3,6-2, yesterday.

Just like I stated on this topic on May: "You see the talent is there but his body does not follow his mind and skill".

Nadal might have a success on doubles for sure. But by himself, I would be very surprised if he manages to conquer another title.

[Walter Hale 4]

Rafael NADAL has just lost to arch-rival Novak DJOKOVIC in the Olympics second round by 6-1,6-4 !!!

It was the pairs 60th match versus one another.
Neevr thought i would see the day that Nadal would lose so easily on a court that he's won 14 French Open's.

Rafael Nadal's Paris 2024 Olympics exit to Novak Djokovic a heartbreaking look at the end of a legend...

For an hour, it looked nothing like what people had hoped for.

Novak Djokovic was cruising against Rafael Nadal, who was a shadow of his former self as he hauled his body through one last challenge.

At 6-1, 4-0 up, Djokovic on his way into the third round.

Then? Boom.

The crowd — consigned to the belief that the match was over — was on its feet, roaring in delight at the slow-burn classic developing in front of its eyes.

Nadal was up and about, the 38-year-old displaying the enthusiasm and belligerence of the new guard.

For five brilliant games in the second set, everything had changed.
A 60-match rivalry like no other

June 2006, was a seismic period for the nation of Serbia.

It was on June 3 that Montenegro formally declared its independence, one of the final pieces to break away from the disintegrated former state of Yugoslavia.

Far less importantly, but just days later, an unseeded Serbian tennis player met the defending French Open champion in a quarterfinal on the red clay of Roland-Garros.

It was an inauspicious appearance for the fledgling Serb, who retired injured after losing the first two sets 6-4, 6-4.
Rafael Nadal serves

Who could have possibly foreseen that some 18 years later, those two players would be back here for the 60th time in their dominant careers, in a contest that was one of the most eagerly anticipated of the Games.

Djokovic won this one 6-1, 6-4, sealing the result with an ace as he saw off a furious Nadal comeback that had Court Phillippe-Chatrier rocking to its sparkling foundations.

This is a rivalry that has gone full circle, from the tallest peaks to the lowest canyons, encircling the globe countless times, being played out on courts at all four corners of the world.

Of course there is no doubt who holds status as the fan favourite in this part of the tennis world.

The roar that greeted Nadal's presentation to the court was befitting that of a champion, although it was almost matched by that of world number two Djokovic, such is the respect he has earned.

But nowhere is Nadal more revered than at Roland-Garros, a place he has won a record 14 singles titles, losing just four matches out of 116 played.


The Spaniard's record highlights an incomparable level of brilliance in an era where three of the greatest players of all time have regularly battled out for the majors.

This is the 11th time this pair have met on the famous clay at the home of the French Open but the first since Nadal's quarterfinal victory in 2022.

But in the unfamiliar territory of the second-round match — never before have these two met earlier than a quarterfinal, apart from in tournaments with round-robin phases — this may well be the last time we will ever see these two warriors crossing racquets in a competitive contest.

Over the past two decades there has not been a tougher assignment in sport than meeting Nadal on clay, especially at his home away from home.

But these are different times, with Nadal ranked 161st in the world.

"[We are in] different situations in our careers," Nadal said after his battling three-set performance against Márton Fucsovics in the first round.

"He's coming from being in the final of a grand slam, and I'm coming without being very competitive in the last two years.

"Let's see, it's in a special place. I'm just going to try to give my best and enjoy it as much as possible.

"I'm more unpredictable now, but I always have hope, I always believe and I want to give my best."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-30/sport-paris-2024-olympic-games-rafa-nadal-novak-djokovic-tennis/104157160

[Walter Hale 4]

meanwhile... NADAL and ALCARAZ are doing very well in Doubles competition, as is Andy MURRAY with his partner Dan Evans.

That'll be the game everyone will be keen to catch, AYE ! But it won't happen BEFORE the final for the Gold medal.

Bring it On


UPDATE


Nadal and Alcaraz have since lost to Amercian Pair of Ram/Krajicek defeating Nadal/Alcaraz by 62 64.

A case of a Team of Champions could not beat a Champion team.

[YDKM]

Yes surely it's time for Nadal to retire where as Djokovic has a couple more years.Andy Murray how now retired it's like the changing of the guard.

[Renan]

And Djokovic finally won the gold medal! What an achievement at 37 years old with recent knee surgery!

[YDKM]

And Djokovic finally won the gold medal! What an achievement at 37 years old with recent knee surgery!

Yes it's an incredible achievement- especially since everyone before the match said he was certain to loose!!!

[Jaime1234]

Here is a photo pf Rafael Nadal, my favourite tennis player of all time, visiting the ancestral home my great grand mother built in 1902, now a grand hotel in Granada, the oldest city in the continental western hemisphere and which is located off the shores of Lake Cocibolca. Had I known he was going to stay at the hotel, I would have driven the 45 minutes that it takes to get there from our capital, and this just to shake his hand, let alone ask for an autograph, or talk to him for hours on end, mostly and invariably about the history of the home. In fact, our only Constitutional War, that of 1925 to 1927, was "run" from there by my great grand mother, who lived in the same suite (then the home's sole 2nd story master bedroom), he actually stayed at. LOL!!

A year later, I asked Carmen, his hostess, who lives In Barcelona and comes four times a year to our country to supervise her hotel's operations, whether they had spoken about his career, etc, and incredible as it may seem, the man from the beautiful island of Mallorca was toying with the idea to retire there, at his wonderful suite looking at the dormant Bombacho volcano, the latter the subject, some 2,000 years ago, of an avalanche of stoney material from one of its sides, (thus, not from its eruption, as first believed), which in turn led to the "birth" of the 365 islands one can find inside the northwestern part of the Lake. They are now the biggest tourist attraction in the state, in fact in the entire country, with wonderful homes been built in about 100 of them, She said she had rarely met such a true gentleman.,

https://scontent.fmga3-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/421809465_24668715292743084_5910649170531240741_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=bd9a62&_nc_ohc=sUxmrjF5HYQQ7kNvgGUznzG&_nc_ht=scontent.fmga3-1.fna&oh=00_AYC4BPKX6pPGnSF5Ix6xf09eBvaqqci0nChIeEPQSA1aWg&oe=66DD25D2

Check out Rafael's view, from his suite...........

https://scontent.fmga3-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/417781816_24571321329149148_2238960978773906377_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=xNyTqf8MvdgQ7kNvgFjqUCr&_nc_ht=scontent.fmga3-2.fna&oh=00_AYC_8FSicUsCG7f2khjYMYLFZhDzJhBkd9NEoRZ60x1HGw&oe=66DD28A1

And from the balcony, as a huge thunderstorm approaches the Cathedral...

https://scontent.fmga3-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/448204962_25760701666877769_671310677722008769_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=K57UsNjaNXUQ7kNvgG4eHvp&_nc_ht=scontent.fmga3-2.fna&oh=00_AYDGLEWjoaeZF08GgltqHv-9tohi8MwH39gtiJF2UT5BIg&oe=66DD029C

Of course he would be proud that the Spanish architect who built this extradinarily elegant staircase in 1902, ( with three landings, so as to allow my great grandmother, then 30 years old, to go up and down without any help from anyone), used, nevertheless, the best wood he could find, locally, as all Conquistadores had done for the previois 400 years. Our wood is amongst the best in the world. Rafael did easily "navigate" the staircase, or so I was told by Carmen,

https://scontent.fmga3-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/417784133_24571250015822946_3557756070413468365_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=eGAOv4dULwYQ7kNvgGrZyk5&_nc_ht=scontent.fmga3-1.fna&oh=00_AYBpcyLf5PCLVhL-ZtmcOQcZWXEskJG8bATocxVPIis5Gw&oe=66DD1525

[Walter Hale 4]

latest news on NADAL is he's been named on the preliminary list for the Davis Cup Spanish Team , the finals are coming up on 19 November.
Could this be his farewell ?

https://www.reuters.com/sports/tennis/nadal-added-spains-davis-cup-final-eight-squad-2024-09-23/

[Renan]

latest news on NADAL is he's been named on the preliminary list for the Davis Cup Spanish Team , the finals are coming up on 19 November.
Could this be his farewell ?

https://www.reuters.com/sports/tennis/nadal-added-spains-davis-cup-final-eight-squad-2024-09-23/

Just my opinion: Nadal should retire playing his last game ever on Roland Garros and Djokovic playing his last game in Australian Open.
I can't remember which location was Federer last game.

[Walter Hale 4]

It's official now. Nadal will finish his career at next month's Davis Cup. How fitting for Rafa, to go out, he loved representing Spain. An end of an era.

Tennis legend Nadal to retire in November

Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, will retire from tennis at the end of this season.

The 38-year-old will represent Spain in his final appearance at next month's Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.

Nadal has barely played over the past two seasons because of injuries and suggested last year he could retire at the end of 2024.

In a video message released on Thursday, Nadal said: "I am here to let you know I am retiring from professional tennis.

"The reality is that it has been some difficult years, the last two especially.

"I don't think I have been able to play without limitations."


full article here:


https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/articles/ckgv9n5jj8jo

[Walter Hale 4]

All the best, RAFA. Thanks for the memories of some truly magnificent tennis.

[Walter Hale 4]

Roger Federer reacts to Rafael Nadal’s retirement announcement: ‘Hoped this day would never come!’

Tennis legend Roger Federer shared an emotional message in response to Rafael Nadal’s retirement announcement. He said: “What a career, Rafa! I always hoped this day would never come,” wrote Federer.

“Thank you for the unforgettable memories and all your incredible achievements in the game we love. It’s been an absolute honour.”

In 2022, an image of a tearful Federer sitting beside his long-time rival Nadal as they reflected on the final moments of Federer’s professional career captured hearts and went viral.

Federer was the first of the ‘Big Three’ - Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic - to retire, marking the slow closure of one of the great eras of the game.

Regarded by John McEnroe as the “greatest match ever,” Nadal triumphed over his Swiss rival in a thrilling contest that ended with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7. This four-hour and 48-minute showdown marked the longest Wimbledon final in history at that time.

With this victory, Nadal claimed his first Grand Slam title outside of Wimbledon title in 2008. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Tennis legend Roger Federer shared an emotional message in response to Rafael Nadal’s retirement announcement. He said: “What a career, Rafa! I always hoped this day would never come,” wrote Federer.

“Thank you for the unforgettable memories and all your incredible achievements in the game we love. It’s been an absolute honour.”

In 2022, an image of a tearful Federer sitting beside his long-time rival Nadal as they reflected on the final moments of Federer’s professional career captured hearts and went viral.

Federer was the first of the ‘Big Three’ - Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic - to retire, marking the slow closure of one of the great eras of the game.

Regarded by John McEnroe as the “greatest match ever,” Nadal triumphed over his Swiss rival in a thrilling contest that ended with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7. This four-hour and 48-minute showdown marked the longest Wimbledon final in history at that time.

With this victory, Nadal claimed his first Grand Slam title outside of Paris, where he had already secured four championships at Roland Garros.

Additionally, he made history by becoming the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win both the French Open and Wimbledon consecutively.

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/tennis/nadal-retirement-federer-fedal-responds-reaction-emotional-message-rivalry/article68740298.ece

Federer & Nadal - Laver Cup 2022.jpg

[Walter Hale 4]

Djokovic shares Nadal's 'greatest achievement' in social media tribute...

Serbian says rival's 'legacy will live forever'

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have battled fiercely on the tennis court for nearly two decades, yet their rivalry transcends mere competition. There is a deep mutual respect between the two
legends, a sentiment Djokovic captured perfectly in a social media tribute to Nadal, who on Thursday announced that he will retire in November.

“One post is not enough to express the respect I have for you and what you have done for our sport,” Djokovic wrote. “You have inspired millions of children to start playing tennis and I think that’s probably the greatest achievement anyone can wish for. Your tenacity, dedication, fighting spirit is going to be taught for decades.”


Both former No. 1s in the PIF ATP Rankings, Djokovic and Nadal have contested countless epic showdowns, often lasting hours and testing the physical limits and mental endurance of both players. Djokovic and Nadal have met a record 60 times, with the Serbian holding a 31-29 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

It is one of the greatest rivalries not only in tennis, but in sports.

“Your legacy will live forever,” Djokovic added. “Only you know what you had to endure to become an icon of tennis and sport in general. Thank you for pushing me to the very limit so many times in our rivalry that has impacted me the most as a player.”

The 38-year-old Nadal will compete in his final professional event at the Davis Cup Finals, to be held in Malaga, Spain from 19-24 November.

“Your passion for representing Spain has always been remarkable,” Djokovic said. “I wish you the best possible farewell in Malaga with the Davis Cup team of Spain. I will be there in person to pay respect to your stellar career.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/djokovic-nadal-2024-retirement-reaction

[TCB-FAN]

An interview he did with U.S. talk show host David Letterman in 2011.